STIRLING MP Anne McGuire has raised concerns about the number of voters who have disappeared from the electoral roll.

Last week it was revealed that there are 2752 fewer voters in the Stirling constituency, mainly as a result of voters not completing their annual registration forms.

The MP said: “Whilst I and my colleagues are supportive of the move to individual voter registration, we have major concerns that the government's proposals are proceeding at a more rapid pace and putting in danger a repeat of the problems experienced in Northern Ireland in 2002, when the move to individual registration resulted in an 11 per cent fall in the size of the register.”

She complained: “The coalition government is proposing to remove any penalties for failing to return an electoral registration form and to remove the safeguards which would help to avoid any fall in the size of the register.

“Whilst voting is a personal choice, electoral registration should remain a civic duty. My real fear is that as a result of the coalition government's proposals there will be a fall in registered electors.

“Not only is this damaging to the integrity of our democracy but the electoral register forms the basis of how constituency boundaries are re-drawn, potential jurors are drawn from it and credit reference checks are made from it.

“Anything that risks the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the electoral register should be opposed.”